ROMELU LUKAKU made his top-flight debut ten years ago to the day, as a 16-year-old at Anderlecht.
On May 24, 2009 – just 11 days after signing his first professional contract – Lukaku came off the bench in a 1-0 defeat against Standard Liege.
The Belgian star, now 26, swiftly proved he was going to become one of the best strikers on the planet, scoring 33 times as a teenager for Anderlecht.
He bagged a move to Chelsea in 2011 – and has now spent close to eight years in England.
During that time he’s swapped the Blues for West Brom and Everton on loan, before joining the latter permanently in 2014.
After three glittering years at Goodison Park, Lukaku regained the attention of Chelsea, but ultimately moved to Manchester United.
Despite his career continuing to go in the right direction, many fans believe the big Belgian has failed to live up to the hype at Old Trafford.
However, the stats suggest Lukaku has actually just had one of the best seasons of his career – when given the opportunity that is.
Despite playing just 32 times for United this term – totalling 2,130 minutes (66 minutes per match) – Lukaku has scored 12 times.
While that figure may seem low, the ex-Chelsea man is scoring with a massive 21.8 per cent of his shots.
Only once has Lukaku boasted a better shot conversion ratio – when he scored 25 goals in his final season at Everton (22.7 per cent).
On top of that, he’s finding the net once every 177.5 minutes – far superior to his first season as a permanent Everton player.
In that 2014-15 season, Lukaku scored just ten, converted 9.5 per cent of his shots – at one goal per 287.5 minutes.
Oddly, the 79-cap, 45-goal Belgium star has notched ZERO assists this season.
Whether it’s the position he’s being played, the comparative lack of game-time or simply feeling the need to be selfish to score and get the critics off his back, is unclear.
One thing is for sure, ten years on from his debut, Lukaku still has plenty in the tank.
United fans rejoicing at recent transfer links with Inter Milan ought to think twice, they might just regret it when he’s gone.
